1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable, collapsible and self-adjustable game supporting device to assist a hunter to skin and dress a slain animal especially in the field where often the animal needs to be butchered immediately in order to preserve the meat and hide.
2. Description of the Related Art
Once an animal such as a deer is killed, the carcass needs to be skinned and butchered in order to preserve the meat. In the past, hunters have addressed this problem in various ways. Skinning and butchering an animal on the ground offers many opportunities to damage the hide or to contaminate the meat. So the hunter has continuously strived to raise the carcass of the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,313 to W. A. Miller on Jul. 15, 1975 for a Game Hanger describes a frame, having removable interlocking pieces, for supporting a slaughtered animal having a block and tackle connected to a triangular hanger having hooks on opposing ends to place through the legs of the animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,317 to R. G. Timothy on Apr. 8, 1986 for a Portable Hanger for Deer and Other Animal Carcasses and Methods shows a device having two cantilevered rigid support arms pivotally joined and having hooks on one end of each arm to hook into the body of the animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,404 to B. E. Flachs on Aug. 29, 1989 for a Portable Deer Pole describes a triangular support structure having a winch and a block and tackle to winch one or more animal carcasses off of the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,110 to J. M. Owens on Sep. 17, 1991 for a Portable Game Support describes a frame that is attached to a tree. The slain animal is hooked onto a hanger. A block and tackle attached to the hanger and the frame. The animal is then raised off of the ground.
Today's hunter still finds himself beset with problems not solved by previous game support devices. The present invention addresses these problems. One problem facing multi-game hunters is that in most cases different size game require a gambrel designed for that size game. It is difficult to suspend a Wild Boar from a gambrel designed to suspend an Elk. Earlier game supports or gambrels required addition optional equipment to adapt or required the user to buy another gambrel. The present gambrel is self-adjusting. It will function as a support for skinning and butchering large or small game in the field, at the lodge or back at home. And it is collapsible which makes it easily transported back in remote places. Many of the early devices were so bulky that the game had to be drug out to the support defeating the whole purpose of the field support device.